MONROE — This year, the Wisconsin Relay For Life events are going virtual and that includes the Relay For Life of Green County event, which was scheduled for July in Monroe. 

The group will “gather” Saturday, Aug. 1 as a state to celebrate using the American Cancer Society-Wisconsin Facebook page and provide hope to those fighting cancer to prove that ‘Hope Lives Here.’

Lisa Martin of New Glarus will serve as this year’s Relay For Life of Green County’s Honorary Survivor. She is a graduate of Juda High School, wife of Chad and mother to daughters Kaylin, 13 and Lana, 9 and is a quality manager at Cleaver Brooks in Monroe.

Her journey with cancer started in 2019.

“2019 was going to be the best year yet with many memories to be made,” Martin said. “I started a new job at Cleaver Brooks and instantly fit in with the team and Chad came home from his deployment overseas.”

Several months went by as the family got back to a normal routine.

“Then on May 24, I found a lump on my right breast,” Martin, now 34 years old said. “At this point, the word cancer popped in my head, but didn’t stay there. There was no way, not me, I’m too young.”

Martin called her primary doctor and they asked her to come in. During the appointment, they discussed family history and the fact that there was no known history of breast cancer in her family.

Her doctor recommended additional tests.

“On June 7, I was scheduled for a mammogram and ultrasound,” Martin said. “The next thing I know the radiologist and two nurses are walking in the room. My heart begins beating very fast. He begins asking me of family history of breast cancer. I explain, there is none. He began talking about the margins and the blood flow through the mass and the last words I remember were: ‘Lisa, I’m very concerned.’” 

Martin said that is when reality sunk in and she realized that it wasn’t going to be the year she thought it was. Her life was about to quickly change.

“We proceeded with a biopsy, which confirmed grade 3 ER/PR positive infiltrating ductal carcinoma,” Martin said. “After the biopsy, our life consisted of doctor appointments and we learned a lot very quickly.”

On June 19, Martin and her doctors discussed different options.

“I learned that not everyone has to go through chemo,” Martin said. “After discussions and weighing the odds, we leaned towards the lumpectomy and getting prepared for the procedure. But on June 27, we got MRI results back and it indicated six more cancer masses. There was no choice but to do a mastectomy.”

Two weeks later, Martin received the results from her genetic testing and her doctors learned that she was BRCA positive. Plans changed again, and she was scheduled for a double mastectomy. 

“On July 12 I was scheduled for a double mastectomy but equally as important lymph node testing,” Martin said. “This is the day it hit me. I remember the endless thoughts and prayer messages and my family standing around my bed. This is when I realized this is real. I have breast cancer and I’m scared.”

After the surgery, Martin recalls asking her husband the results of the lymph node testing.

“Once again another smack in the face,” Martin said. “They tested positive meaning that the cancer had spread into my lymphatic system. This meant that I was going to have to go through chemo.”

Martin’s doctors also learned that not only were the six masses cancer and her lymph nodes positive for cancer, but they also found intralymphatic spread, which meant the breast cancer cells broke through to lymph channels, which carry blood from breast tissue to the rest of the body.

Martin underwent her first chemotherapy treatment Aug. 13.

“My emotions ran extremely high and I was so scared,” recalls Martin. “I hear the words, ‘In about two weeks your hair will begin to fall out in chunks.’ This was all I could focus on.” 

Martin went through eight rounds of chemo, which were administered every two weeks.

“To this day, I still gag when I think of chewing on ice chips while they administered the chemo drug known as the ‘red devil,’” Martin said. “The days that followed the chemo treatments were rough.”

It took her about a week to recover. 

About two weeks later, her hair did begin to fall out and her husband shaved her head. The next step was radiation, which started Dec. 19 and was scheduled every day for six weeks. 

“The worst part about this was the drive to Madison for a 10-minute appointment,” Martin said. “I got really sick during this process and had to postpone some treatments, but I managed to finish it, and rang the bell on the last day.”

Martin met with her oncologist Feb. 11 and his words resonated: “Time will tell us when you are cancer free.”

Martin attended counseling sessions to learn to watch for signs and symptoms she needed to be concerned about. 

“Even though I was happy treatments were done, I knew that this was never going to go away,” added Martin. “After having cancer, does a person ever reach a state of mind that says, ‘I don’t have cancer anymore and it is never coming back?’ With every ach, pain, or something different going on in my body, the first thought, ‘Is this the cancer?’”

Martin said that since the last treatment, she has had a couple scares but thankfully, the biopsies have come back negative. Because she carries the BRCA gene, it puts her at higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. Because she has a cancer that feeds off of estrogen, she made the decision at the suggestion of her doctors to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed and to stay on medication long term. 

Her first of two procedures began May 22. 

“This journey was not easy, and it put me through emotions that I never knew I had,” Martin said. “It has changed mine and my family’s life. It has taken a lot of things from me but it will never define me.” 

Martin said that she chose to work through the process; it became a place for her where her having cancer wasn’t the focus. 

“This place and the people kept me smiling throughout the roughest of days,” Martin said. “I have the best support system from family, friends, my work family, community, my hometown Juda and people that I have never met. We are truly blessed.”

Martin is especially grateful for her caregivers. She said her biggest supporter came in her husband, Chad, who she said saw her through the worst during the process. 

Martin added if there is one thing others should realize is the importance of self-checks.

“This is something I didn’t do because I thought something like this would never happen to me,” Martin said. “Unfortunately, mammograms are not given until the age of 40. Please encourage and stress the importance of self-checks at a young age.”

She also wants others to know that even though the treatment process is extremely difficult, it is OK to find the happiness in the midst of it.

“Smile and enjoy the good days you do have,” Martin said. “There were days I forced myself to get out and I am thankful that I did. We spent so much time caught up in the appointments and daily events that go along with having this terrible disease that it is so easy to forget to be ourselves and enjoy moments.” 

The Relay for Life of Green County will have a walk and drive-by luminaria event from 8:15 to 9:15 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Jaycee Park in Brodhead, showcasing the luminaria bags that have been purchased in memory or in honor of loved ones. 

Luminaria bags also can be purchased online and donations can be made to teams, team members, or to the event using the website or forms posted on the website. The deadline for luminaria orders is Saturday, July 25, in order to complete the online presentation.

For more information about Relay For Life of Green County, contact Jo Ann Steuri at 608-728-2980.